More than 37,000 acres have been burned and 224 homes destroyed so far in the fire raging in the Lincoln National Forest.

While progress is being made, there are still hundreds of people forced out of their homes, and many want to know when they can come back.

"This is a little bit challenging in the cases where the homes were destroyed," said Michelle Caskey, of Lincoln County Emergency Services. "Sometimes we only have the home phone numbers for people, so we're trying to get cell phones and find them where they are at right now."

For the last two days, the Lincoln County Office of Emergency Services office has been busy compiling a list of homeowners whose homes have been damaged or destroyed by the fire.

"People have been out of their homes since Saturday, and we completely understand," Caskey said.

It's a daunting task, Caskey said, because names have to be cross-referenced with the Assessor's Office and then double-checked to make sure they have the cell phone numbers for the homeowners.

"We haven't wanted to be premature, and we wanted to make sure we were complete with people," Caskey said.

By Thursday, she said, the list will be out and homeowners affected by the fire will be contacted personally.

"Everybody who has experienced a loss or damage will be contacted by Lincoln County Sheriff's Office," Caskey said.

Emergency Services officials asked residents to be patient. They said it could take two days to get through the list if the calls are started on Thursday.

A number to call for residents who believe they've become victims of the fire is expected to be released on Thursday. County officials said they don't have enough staff to answer phones before then.